The Next Steps with Pgh School Reform, replacing bad board members with good ones

From an email list and Barb (see comment):

It seems that an excellent effort has been made to participate in and influence government at the School Board level only to find out that the outcome and results were very unsatisfactory.

It turns out that as good as the effort of the Schenley supporters was, bad government prevailed and frustrated the efforts.

The focus should now be to change bad government itself so that better government is available to respond to the needs of the parents, students, voters and taxpayers.

As Dr. Moore (using a speech prepared by Larry Myers) stated to the Board, 'every time the Board looks over their shoulder, they see the posse of Schenley supporters following'.

It is possible that a Schenley graduate of 2008 could serve on the School Board in 2009.

The requirements to run for a School Board seat are:

Age 18
Residency of 1 year in the district
10 signatures on a nominating petition
No filing fee

School Board members who voted to close Schenley are:

Heather Arnet District 2
Bill Isler District 4
Theresa Colaizzi District 5
Jean Fink District 7
Floyd McCrea District 9

Odd numbered districts are up for election in 2009. ( Colaizzi, Fink, McCrea)

The election process should start in January 2009.

Determine who in the Parents group resides in the appropriate districts.

Find a candidate to run against the Board member. There may already be someone out there who plans to run, they need to be contacted and supported as necessary.

Frequently, School Board members get reelected because there is no opposition. (Fink, McCrea in 2005)

Need to circulate a petition to get name on the ballot (10 names).

Make contact with Democratic Committee to identify Ward Chairs. Their leadership stated their support of Schenley at the hearing on June 16, 2008.

Try to obtain endorsement of Democratic Committee. These folks can do Poll work.

The following table shows the election results in 2005. It indicates some vulnerability of all three candidates, especially Colaizzi where Tom Baker was able to get 2,493 votes while running as a Republican in the general election. Since the others had no opposition, it may turn out that they can be voted out by a viable candidate.


Candidate District Votes % Opposition Votes

Dem. Primary 2005:
Colaizzi, district 5 = 3825 vs. Tom Baker = 2224
Fink, district 7 = 4,000 vs. for none
McCrea, district 9 = 3,282 vs none

Dem. General 2005:
Colaizzi, district 5 = 4,303 = 63.3% vs. Tom Baker (Republican) 2,493
Fink, district 7 = 3,722 vs. none
McCrea, district 9 = 3,707 vs. none

I am presently gearing up for a trip to China in August. And, I'm on the ballot in November 2008 as a candidate for the Electorial College.

However, I'm considering a run for school board in 2009. I live in district 5 -- a seat that is presently occupied by Ms. Colaizzi.

Not only do we need to get good school board members, like those who won't storm out of meetings when a non-paid citizen is permitted to speak, we need to get candidates for Mayor and some city council seats too.

From PPS

Update:

Candidate	District	Votes	%	Opposition	Votes
Dem. Primary 2005
Colaizzi	5	3825	63	Tom Baker	2224
Fink	7	4000	100	none
McCrea	9	3282	100	none
Dem. General 2005
Colaizzi	5	4303	63.3	Tom Baker (Republican)	2493
Fink	7	3722	100	none
McCrea	9	3707	100	none